Shadow
by Jedi Kay-Kenobi
Summary: Every human has a shadow, but there is one peculiar human who has two.


**Hello, readers! I thought I'd give myself a go with a fanfic based on 'The Book Thief.' Oh, what a fantastic movie. I love it to pieces, and I'm in the process of reading the book. Yeah, the ending is spoilt for me because I saw the film first (I blame my friend :P) but I couldn't resist reading it afterwards! This has elements of both the book and the movie and is full of Rudy goodness, because he is just so adorable and impossible to not love! :)  
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****People have only a single shadow, a thick, black silhouette that tails them day and night. Its paints itself on the wall and stalks after its suitor, weaved to them.

But Liesel Meminger has two.

She doesn't know it, but it's there. He is there. Rudy Steiner. The boy spun out of shadows.

A few weeks ago he had rolled into death's arms with only a little fight, the little breath left in his lungs trying to push the words he had so desperately wanted to tell the book thief up his burning throat and past his chapped lips; words that were snatched away from him and words where he longed to see her reaction.

Before his untimely demise he had often wondered how she would look. Surprised? Ecstatic? He wouldn't have been bothered even if she had smacked his arm and called him a saukerl. It was a term of endearment that he had grown accustomed to in his life.

But no. Her face only conveyed disbelief as he slipped from her grasp, his lemon-coloured soul being carried away in death's cold arms.

Death hadn't been as scary as he'd imagined. He had half expected a tall, brooding figure, shrouded in black and grasping a scythe to greet him. The human perception had it entirely wrong. But, of course, he could never tell the living how death looked. They would discover that themselves one day.

He remembers the day he died. It plays on a loop in his head, and it always freezes on her grief stricken face, a hairs breadth away from his after giving him the kiss that he never felt. The kiss he spent years wanting and that he would now wait a life time for.

But it was Liesel's life, and he wanted her to live it at its fullest before he had that kiss.

Unbroken he stood before his own cold corpse, gazing down at her with soft blue eyes that would not moisten with tears. He desperately wanted to cry, scream her name and tell her that he loved her too.

But he was dead. And she couldn't hear or see him.

Death was too cruel, and she rose to her unsteady feet, only to collapse into the rubble seconds later. He launched himself forward to catch her, yet she fell straight through his hands that were nothing but air to her. It broke his heart to see her so fragile, the girl with a thousand words sticking inside her throat and choking her with sorrow.

The lemon-haired boy stood motionless, staring longingly at her, so badly hoping against hope that he could re-enter his body and somehow come back to life.

If only that were possible. If only death possessed the power to give life and not just take it away.

A man in uniform rushed over to retrieve her, scooping her up in his arms and carrying her as though she were glass, infinitely precious. He wished that it was he who was carrying her.

He wishes that he could hold her, kiss her.

Over the years he does. He kisses her glistening cheek after the birth of her children, ignoring the pang in his heart that tells him he wishes they were his children. One, the youngest of the three, a son, has her dangerous brown eyes and her husband's blonde hair, though he knows that deep down she wishes that it could just be a little brighter; the colour of lemons. Her eldest is the spitting image of him in his youth. He likes to run, and that doesn't just remind her of her sorrow, but also of the happiest moments of her life in Molching. She loves all of her children and her husband dearly.

He holds her when she weeps over Max's passing, kissing her tears away, although she can feel none of them. He is with him now, awaiting Liesel's arrival. They are not surprised when they meet, speaking as if they have known each other all along. Thanks to Liesel's words, it feels like they have.

At ninety she is on her deathbed, having lived a full and happy life. Her children, now all adults, stand around her. Rudy steps forwards and sits on the edge of the bed, slipping his hand beneath hers.

She has aged, wrinkles adorning her aged face and eyes, but the dangerous gleam still glistens in their deep depths. She is still the most beautiful thing he has ever seen. And he has never stopped loving her.

Her breath hitches, eyes turning directly to him. He was warned about this. Despite being unable to see him, Liesel senses that he is there, just like he sensed death was when his time came, having stood just next to her crouched form. She doesn't speak, only gazes at him with glistening eyes. She is happy.

Her final breath is drawn, and she passes on with a gentle smile on her face.

He stands in the immaculate Heaven Street, his soccer ball resting in front of his feet and a grin on his face. His lemon hair whips across his eyes, but he is uncaring of anything else. Not the perfect and untouched street that he lived his entire life in. Not the prickling in his eyes as the loose strands of his hair whip at them. None of that matters when the book thief is standing just at the other end of the street, grinning also.

She is young again, her 'just-enough-to-pass-for-German' blonde hair swaying over her shoulders, cheeks rosy pink. She is wearing her burgundy coat and black dress.

He kicks the soccer ball aside and dashes forwards. They meet in the middle of the street, just outside his house, standing face to face, breathing heavily.

"How about a kiss, Saumensch?" he asks wickedly, grinning like an idiot, crystal blue eyes sparkling with cheer.

The dangerous gleam in her brown eyes ignites once more, and she utters one word: "Saukerl."

She grabs his jacket collar and pulls him to her, rising to her tiptoes. Their teeth collide in thin air. 

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**I enjoyed writing this. What do you think? Hopefully it wasn't dreadful.**


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